REGGIO NELL'EMILIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Manuel Locatelli of US Sassuolo celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and FC Crotone at Mapei Stadium - Città del Tricolore on October 3, 2020 in Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Juventus Make First Bid for Long-Time Target But Will Have to Be Patient

Juventus do not want to wait too long to acquire Manuel Locatelli, but Sassuolo prefer to see how he does in the Euro to drum up a bidding war. The Bianconeri will try to insert one youngster in the deal to lower the fee or orchestrate a favorable formula to save money for another investment, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports.

Juventus have initially put €25M on the table plus Nicolò Rovella or Nicolò Fagioli. On the other hand, Sassuolo would rather get €40M without any swap, Goal.com indicates. The two sides deny that the negotiation has officially started, but the contacts have been frequent in recent days. Radu Dragusin and Cosimo Marco Da Graca could be involved in the case of a large operation.

Locatelli voiced the same intention as his club in today’s presser from Coverciano: “Being targeted by big top clubs is a sort of revenge for me. It is important to bounce back when you suffer major disappointments. The transfer market buzz is normal at this time of the year, but I am mature enough not to be influenced by it. It would be a waste of energy, but I am aware I will have to make a decision after the Euro. I have already spoken with Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali; we know what the path to take is.”

At the moment, Juventus are not too worried about the competition as they believe Locatelli would pick them over foreign options. He opened to moving PSG in an interview in May. Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid have also laid eyes on him in recent days, while Manchester City have been tracking him for some time according to the Italian newspaper.